Arts, Music and Culture

Dallas Mayor Explains Why White Males Are Scarier Than Refugees

When the mayor of Dallas, Texas not too long ago commented on the panicked and xenophobic responses from U.S. politicians in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, he made one thing clear: He’s not afraid of welcoming refugees in his city.

In an interview with MSNBC, mayor Mike Rawlings also pointed out a significant hypocrisy in many’s responses: “This is a critical situation. I am far more fearful of large gatherings of white guys that come into schools [and] theaters and shoot individuals up, but we don’t isolate young white guys on this issue.”

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That is a statement that is as bold as it is correct: Statistically, a lot more men and women have been killed by “homegrown” — generally white — terrorists than by Islamic extremists. The majority of mass killings in the U.S. have also been perpetrated by white males.

While he’s not claiming that white males are inherently harmful or scary on their personal, he is pointing out that it would be incredibly hypocritical to generalize an whole group — particularly one particular that is clearly in need of (and, you know, entitled to) international protections. (Particularly without the numbers on their side.)

Rawlings also encouraged other Americans not to succumb to fear and Islamophobia and to as an alternative keep in mind that “ISIS is no far more Islamic than the Nazi senior staff was Christian, and we have got to differentiate amongst these.”

He said that even though there’s never ever any “100 percent guarantee” of safety, he had faith in the robust screening method for refugees.